Good old Phil clearly knows nothing about obtaining fishing licences in Andalucia. You have to take a written examination that takes 40 days to mark and return(!) You also need personal liability insurance to fish here. This is because the brain dead office boys who regulate fishing in Andalucia have lumped fishing together with gun hunting and the regulations are therefore the same if you want to catch a minnow or shoot a wild boar. Phil recommends Rio Frio and Vinuela, both Andalucian fisheries, without imparting any of this information. Good old Phil blithely tells us “A fishing licence is cheap and easy to obtain”. He even gives us the price. Doesn’t he know that each region of Spain has different laws, different procedures and different charges? He is evidently a happy ignoramos, who hasn’t yet been caught (fines are large). More likely he hasn’t been near these places. Santana’s books are notorious for poor editing, lack of proper research and misinformation. If his is what his book offers, it’s no exception.

Thanks John for putting things straight.

To buy a fishing licence for Andalucia you first need to be registered with the “Registro Andaluz de Caza y Pesca Continental”, and to register with them you have to take a course and write the exam John mentions above.

It’s all here:
http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/site/web/menuitem.e2d8edb3325e10d72766aac060425ea0/

A wonderful opportunity to increase tourism one again spoilt by red tape. Most of the people who would want to come from Uk to fish here have more experiance than the spanish i have seen winching out carp on 20 kilo line at El Chorro .Or walking around with a 10 kilo Pike on a string attached to their waist until it becomes uneatable .yes i know you wouldnt eat one in Uk but on the continent they do .

Exactly. Rural tourism is more or less all that Andalucia has got left, now that the building industry has collapsed, fruit and veg fetch very little (this year at least) and the coast is a complete mess as far as tourism goes. The tourist office at Loja (it administers the Rio Frio) have published an interesting text for foreigners (in spanish of course)on

http://turismoloja.blogspot.com/2008/01/conseguir-licencia-de-pesca-para.html

My translation of the bit relevant to tourists is as follows:
It is very easy if you are a member of the EU or of a Spanish region other than Andalusia, the fisherman only needs to send by fax
1. 1 copy of your national identity document, passport or residence permit
2. 1 copy of the accreditation document from the authority of the fisherman’s country of origin. (I think this would be a rod licence in the UK)
Send it to this by FAX to:
The Ministry of the Environment, Andalusia on (0034) 958 02 60 58
The license will be issued the same day.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Magdalenta Castile (Delegation of Environment. Meeting of Andalusia). Tel 958 02 60 88 or Municipal patronage of Tourism of Loja. turismo@aytoloja.org, tel. (0034) 958 32 39 49/958 32 15 20

I am following this up because of course they don’t tell you how to pay or how to choose what licence you want. Its typical of Spain – create a beaurocratic nightmare and then invent tortuous ways round it.

Fishing is a great passtime; I have been a game fisherman all my life. Spain’s angling laws are a tad draconian, but don’t you all think that a test is actually a good idea? There are many good anglers, and there are many, many BAD anglers e.g. who leave behind a mess of fishing line and other items that harm the local wildlife, and with otherwise poor fishing skills such as those mentioned above.

Spain certainly needs to promote its angling a lot more, but making it easier to fish may not be a good idea by itself. Sure, we want to increase tourism, but we don’t want inexperienced anglers to ruin the place either.

As for rules and regulations, tests and such like, I have never met an angler in Spain with any of these items lol. The ones I’ve met just fish where and when they like – enforcement is scarce.

Hi Fred dont be fooled there are regular patrols at El Choro Malaga province for example. The headline fines are horrendous as always.
The way to aquire a licence without test if you really want one is to take along your last Environment agency licence from UK it does not matter if it has expired, it shows you had a licence in a different country,and they will except it.Dare i say you can get these online anytime!!!A weekly or monthly licence is cheap and saves spending the next year taking the test.

The argument regarding bad anglers in UK, the standard of those fishing now is amongst the best i would say .We have been educating yougsters for decades now as junior members of fishing clubs .If you leave rubbish in a pitch on any Uk water you would be black listed and banned .In the case of your type of Angling which is also mine it tends to be a little more unaccompanied and therefore more self disciplined. Yes you will find litter but sadly that is the standards of many people today. Again at El Chorro which is also the drinking water for malaga province the litter problem is massive ,allthough most of it tied neatly in plastic bags before being left behind.

I would like to see the licence for tourists made more easy to aquire then if you had someone staying it would be a matter of going to an office ,postoffice or shop nearby the venue to obtain one.

El Cinico’s right, Fred. You could probably get away with sea fishing with out a licence but on the Rio Frio a policeman on pop pop bike would get you straight away.

And Fred, you thought the Spanish fishing test was written by fishermen didn’t you?

You probably expect (as I did) questios like:

“On the Rio Frio the daily allowable brown trout “kill” per angler is twenty fish (true). Give three arguments (or even one) for returning a fish alive to the water”

or

“Suggest a technique for removing a barbed hook from a fishes mouth without doing it significant damage”

In fact the test is written by civil servants. Here is a typical question from part one of the fishing competency test(my translation):

En los embalses, las aguas más profundas se oxigenan gracias(In reservoirs, the deepest water is oxygenated thanks to. . )

a. Su contacto con la atmósfera.(contact with the atmosphere)

b. El mezclado con las aguas más superficiales.(mixing with shallower water)

c. La actividad de las plantas verdes.(the activity of green plants)

You can find them all on:
http://www.pescaenred.com/servicios/per.examen1.htm

I didn’t say the bad anglers were just in the UK; they are everywhere, of course. Also, I was not advocating fishing without a license; I was merely commenting on the realities in Spain. I can’t see someone with a 10 euro tackle set being sued somehow… they’d just run away; I’ve seen it many a times.

A test for flyfishing is a good idea; it is a true skill and my Father taught me on and off over 20 years. Coarse fishing is a much simpler affair lol.

Btw, I already have a license for Spain (via the English route) and have fished around Loja a lot, although the UK wins hands down for trout imho – Wales and Scotland especially. Flying back to London soon for my annual trip to Hardy’s on Pall Mall :)

Having just puchased a shore fising license today, which take about 15 minutes at the Malaga agricuture and fishery controlin Ave. Aurora near to Estaction de autobuses.
You need to go through the security check on the ground floor, walk straight ahead and turn left where you will see a desk marked accordingly.

1st Class Tierra (beach) cost 5.24 Euros
2nd Class Embarcacion (boat) cost 10.47 Euros
3rd Class Colechia (group boat) cost 10.47 Euros
4th Class Submarina (snorkel/dive) cost 7.83 Euros

There is no examination and if you are over 65 it is free and the licence is for life.

That’s great news John. Very useful info for me because I do all sorts of fishing. Seems cheap and straightforward, unlike freshwater licences!

Hi to all having trawled through countless sites such as this i still find that no one appears to give a clear answer to the question most people are asking which is
WHERE AND HOW DO I GET HOLD OF A FISHING LICENCE IN SPAIN?
most sites give appear to give missleading information
DONT GET ME WRONG BECAUSE I DONT KNOW EITHER but surely somebody must have got one at sometime.
I live near Antequera and hold a current uk licence. and require a licence for this region.
do i have to take a test or not?
do i require insurance as i am led to believe that hunting and fishing are governed by the same body?
if so where do you get your insurance from?
can i fill in the forms on line? (i have been told this can be done but how? and where?)
IF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE MILL AND GOT A SPANISH FISHING LICENCE PLEASE HELP ME
ALL I WANT TO DO IS SIT ON THE BANK AND FISH (IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK??)
i look forward to some interesting replies

amapolabob

Dear Anglers,
If you are interested in a new fishing club, near Coín (Málaga), find my details on http://www.lagoeldorado.com
We have carp, barbel and rudd. We have easy access and are based in the grounds of a 3 star rural hotel. Please, look up our site or contact me on 653967607 or 951264005.
Regards,
Mike

Help; I was looking forward to two weeks fishiing the Guardiaro River at Jimera De Libar but after reading the comments above I am beginning to wonder if it is worth hauling my tackle from UK. Is freshwater fishing really that difficult to arrange in Malaga province. I of course have my Environment Agency licence plus my local angling club membership card does this make it any easier or should I just forget the whole thing.

I have just got my Andalucian course and trout fishing licence. This is how I did it. I went to the British Consul in Malaga with my current English licence, my passport, my NIE number and my empadronamiento [registration at town hall]. I live here so have these documents. For a 41 euro fee the consul verifies my documnets and issues a certificate saying so. You take this document to the Medio Ambiente [same building in Malaga]and after checking your documents again they give you a 6 gigit number [mine was on a post-it note]! I was told to go and get fishing insurance and then take it with my number to a Bank {eg Caja Mar} and buy my licence. I then went to lie down in a nice hotel. The next day I went to Mapfre for insurance [16 euro a year] and then to the Bank. I chose a 3 year licence plus trout and it cost about 30 euro.

I know this does not help visitors, but residents with a current UK licence should be able to do this.

A particular thank you to Mike Taylor and Zulema at Lago El Dorado for helping me.

Anthony, what about your trout fishing test? Can you flyfish with the paperwork you have?

Fred, yes I can. But as yet I don’t know where.

Well done on getting the license. Riofrio and around are notable venues for trout. They had a lot of damage last year from the rains; no doubt this year as well.

Be interesting to know if a past valid UK license could be used get you a new Spanish license if you are resident in Spain?

well at last i have my licence as mentioned before take your uk licence invalid or not (mine was 4 weeks out of date) your passport,empardromiento,N.E.I. and go to the consulate in malaga. get your document verified by the consulate (which i thought was a rip off 41 euros to say that you are who you are. as if a passport is not a legal means of identification, along with all the other documents that you have to show your passport to obtain and why the check if your uk licence does not have to be in date) Enough wingeing.
Then take all doc’s upstairs to the department of fishing office and they will give you a form to take to the bank next door.
A normal rod licence will cost 5 euros a year and covers you for the region of andalucia not just the province of malaga insurance from the bank is 16 euros but for future reference you can add this to your house insurance for 8 euros a year.
I live near Antequera and fish with my spanish friends we used to fish in the waters surrounding IZNAJAR but now fishing has been banned due to the mussel farms and fishing is also now banned in embalsa de la vinuela unlike Iznajar there are signs up prohibiting fishing but at either location fish at your peril. we now go to embalsa de ardalles which is part of lake Chorro
Thats all from me so tight lines and have fun